Monthly Archives: May 2012
Friday, May 11th, 2012
Written by: carmstrong
By Mary Jean McCarthy-Tapp
Type: Residential
Issues: Unprotected wood below-grade
Repairs: Remove and replace damaged sheathing, apply fluid-applied membrane along concrete foundation wall
SBSA was contacted to observe repairs to a handicap-accessible patio home. The patio slab had been poured flush with the door threshold in order to make the unit accessible. But the concrete was blocking the weep holes in the door’s sill pan. Consequently, water was leaking into the unit, buckling the wood floor inside.
Patio door providing rear access to a handicap-accessible patio home. The concrete slab patio was poured up to the level of the main floor without any thought given to protecting the vulnerable wood sheathing and rim joists below.
To perform the repair, the contractor jack-hammered out the concrete patio and removed the first row of hardboard siding. When the siding was removed, it quickly became apparent that this home was going to require more than a simple door repair and concrete replacement.
Buried below the concrete, the OSB sheathing, rim joists and sill plates were rotting away. One wall was covered in building felt below-grade, and the other had one layer of building paper for protection. The rim joists are part of the structure of the main floor. If they rot out, the wall that sits on top of them could fall down, creating a life-safety issue. Additionally, according to building codes, unprotected wood should not be in contact with grade.
To repair this condition, SBSA provided new details to the contractor to protect the vulnerable wood below grade. First, the damaged OSB sheathing and rim joists were replaced. Then a liquid-applied waterproof membrane was applied from eight-inches above the surface of the concrete to six-inches below the top of the concrete foundation wall. The patio door was reset in a sill pan flashing that was integrated with the liquid-applied waterproof membrane. After backfilling, the patio was re-poured and the siding and stone were installed with a two-inch clearance to the slab. Galvanized flashing and counter-flashing provide an extra layer of protection above the surface of the patio.
Rim joist stained and covered in biogrowth. The PVC pipe under the slab was supposed to drain the downspout, but it was backsloped, further compounding the problem.
Liquid-applied waterproof membrane installed over the repaired sheathing and rim joists. The site is ready for the concrete patio to be re-poured.
Friday, May 4th, 2012
Written by: carmstrong
By Justin Foy, R.S.
Case Study:
A reserve study was recently performed at a Homeowners Association that is 26 years old. During the observation, the following immediate concerns were noted.
A PVC roof system was used throughout the community. These roofs are 26 years old, and have exceeded their useful life. The seams had begun to fail, which can permit water to enter through the roof and potentially cause damage.
Repair: Replace roof, including underlayment and relevant flashings.
Estimated cost: $400,000.
The asphalt conditions throughout the community were also observed. Roads and driveways were experiencing distress, and needed to be replaced.
Repair: Remove asphalt, recondition the subsoils and to place a new asphalt system down
Estimated cost: $650,000.
The façades throughout the community are board and batten siding. The siding has become warped from moisture and needs to be replaced in order to continue providing a weatherproof exterior.
Repair: Remove board and batten siding, install new weather-resistive barrier, install new flashings and install new siding.
Estimated cost: $750,000.
Unfortunately, the association has roughly $500,000 in reserves and cannot cover these immediate needs. What are the Association’s options?
Option 1 – Defer the asphalt and siding projects and do the roof project.
Option 2 – Special assess the homeowners $1,200,000 at around $6,500 each and perform all of the necessary projects.
Option 3 – Pay for the roof project and have the association get a loan to cover the $1,200,000 needed for asphalt and siding project.
Option 4 (recommended) – Based on a risk analysis of the consequences associated with deferring any of these projects, the roof and the siding projects are necessary immediately. Moisture is penetrating into the buildings through the failed seams in the roof and areas of the façade. This is causing ongoing and progressive damage, as well as creating potential health risks.
Therefore, SBSA recommended replacing the roof using the available funds, special assessing each homeowner $3,700—which is much more manageable—for the siding replacement, and deferring the asphalt until the funds are built back up to afford the asphalt.
SBSA’s Construction & Property Analysis department can help associations determine the importance of various repairs and the potential risks associated with deferring certain repair needs. We take into consideration the available funding of the Association, and balance that with the existing conditions of the property.
Need a reserve study from SBSA? Download our reserve study proposal request form here.
Monday, March 19th, 2012
Written by: carmstrong
Joe Maty of Durability + Design attended Ryan Barnes’ presentation on the Evolution of EIFS at RCI’s International Conference and Tradeshow on Saturday, March 17, 2012. Afterwards, he wrote a fantastic article about Ryan’s presentation, and blogged about it in Brushed Aside, his blog on D+D’s website. Below is an excerpt of the article, and a link to the entire article.
By Joe Maty, Durability + Design
The Beauvallon Condominiums in Denver started life in 2001 as one of the hottest addresses in the city.
But the upscale condos’ Wow Meter took a big plunge not long after the complex’s arrival on the Mile High cityscape.
The problem? Big-time water damage.
The Beauvallon’s descent into a waterlogged morass—and its rise, Phoenix-like, from multistory sponge to renewed inhabitability—made for one of the more interesting narratives at the RCI International Convention, wrapping up today (Tuesday, March 20) in Dallas.
The story of the Beauvallon, told by Ryan Barnes, a buildings forensics expert with SBSA Inc., Golden, Colo., offered evidence that buildings clad in EIFS (exterior insulation and finish systems) can fall victim to the same woes that plagued the technology early on in its 40-year history in North America.
Read the rest here.
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
Written by: carmstrong
This holiday season, SBSA’s staff constructed defective gingerbread houses for clients. The defects in these gingerbread houses included structural issues, civil grading problems, building envelope issues, and some electrical problems. SBSA has posted a gallery of the gingerbread houses. (more…)
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
Written by: carmstrong
By: Megan Danner, Senior Forensic Specialist
mdanner@callSBSA.com
The lego ladies looking tough.
Builders scrambled during the last 10 minutes of the Plastic Fantastic competition to swap out LEGOs for that one perfect piece, or find a place to put odd LEGOs that didn’t fit anywhere. For SBSA’s two teams, it was a blur of pink and black as Team Beauvallon and team The Others raced to finish their fantastic plastic creations. Within moments, towers were standing tall, roofs were completed, and one car made its way onto the lego street.
Habitat for Humanity hosted the Plastic Fantastic LEGO Build competition on October 9, 2010, as a fundraiser to benefit their Women Build Home that is currently under construction on the west side of Denver for future first-time homeowner, Christie Halliburton. For this first-ever event, SBSA entered two teams at the professional level, a category reserved for design firms, giving SBSA’s ladies a chance to display their engineering and architecture acumen. Each team in the professional category was allowed 90 minutes to build a Denver landmark of their choosing using 1,000 Legos. All legos had to be used in the design, which made for some down to the wire heavy duty structural reinforcement for Team Beauvallon.
(more…)
